"That's algiz. It's a protection rune. The earrings will save your life once, or prevent harm twice." A voice rang out. It was obviously a child- but older than Manon's current self. The brunette looked over her shoulder, and was suddenly blinded by bright….pink.
The blindness wore off momentarily, and Manon blinked to regain her eyesight, a blurry form finally appearing through her temporarily obstructed vision.
Dark chocolate-brown hair, as if it wanted to be curly. The head tilted to the side, but Manon still couldn't see clearly.
"Odd. How can you still see?" He hummed. Manon could just make out how tall he was, things were getting clearer but not quite.
"Are you saying you intentionally blinded a half blind girl?" She gritted out, her confusion exchanging for anger very rapidly. The boy barked out a laugh, melodious but conniving.
"Half blind? You're a shitty liar. But a great dramatist." Manon was taken aback immediately, physically. Who was this random kid and why was he cursing like a sailor? Where was his parent? At least Manon had an excuse- she was actually 22. But his behavior made her feel like the angry old man selling fruit. Especially when she had been so kind as to hold back her own potty mouth. Manon went to open said mouth, the blurriness finally subsiding with her rapid blinking. She planned to truly give him an uncensored piece of her mind- but before she could....as soon as she blinked, he disappeared.
No note, no final words, nothing. Just silence. Manon huffed, adrenaline high from the encounter. Had he really tried to blind her? Why hadn't it worked? Where did he go?
"What a freak." She grumbled, her vision finally coming back. The girl found herself stomping downstairs to tell Colette about how she was almost blinded and sold into slavery or something.
….
…
…
Colette cleared her throat, thinking about what she could even say to the prince to make sure the impression was satisfactory at this stage. The 8 year old was standing straight with perfect posture, staring straight at Harry as the man fumbled to finish Colette's order, having come back moments prior.
"So sorry your highness! I didn't expect you for another half hour-I mean I didn't expect such a- such a lengthy order!" Harry quickly dropped an angelite braise and larimar braise into a brown paper bag after finally finishing the seals. The prince didn't speak, just smiled politely as he waited.
"Miss Colette. All you need to do is hold the braise to whatever hand you want it sealed to and say "seal". The stone will be linked to that hand. Whenever you need to use it, just say "braise". Sounds easy?" Harry explained, and for the first time after hearing her name, Antoni properly acknowledged that Colette had one.
"Colette." He said, as if testing it on his own. Colette stiffened as she took the paper bag from Harry. "What is your house?" He asked, and for once Colette could breathe a sigh of relief. The question was the same dialogue from the game, even if it wasn't the same setting and context.
"I don't have one yet." She recited. On cue, Antoni's eyebrows shot up ever so slightly. His model-like features shifted thoughtfully. Colette did not hold eye contact, something she thought would be easy- something Colette could do in the game. But Antoni's golden irises were far too piercing. She thought she might not move again, as if she would be turned into a statue like a Medusa victim. With a harsh gulp, she brought her pale blue eyes back to his gaze, only to find him ridiculously close, studying her face.
[AP: 4]
"You-"
"Colette! This crazy fool almost murdered me!" Manon ran downstairs, her braid flailing behind her as she nearly tripped. But the 7 year old girl readjusted her stance and simply jumped the last few steps, making it look easy as she landed on her two feet, hands out like a gymnast. By the time she had reached Colette and seen the ginger's current predicament, Antoni was already a more appropriate distance away from her friend- his expression a mixture of pure neutrality and thinly veiled amusement.
"What exactly are you…." The brunette began, slowly, quietly, sensing something different about the raven haired boy. He was far too elegant, far too nicely dressed, with a gaze far too strong. As if just realizing, she immediately bowed, and Colette breathed yet another rare sigh of relief that she had told Manon about Antoni's appearance prior to the outing's departure.
Antoni didn't laugh this time.
"Hmm, alright. I'll send for you later, Harry." The boy said, looking at his watch. Colette paled. Antoni was supposed to ask Colette to help him with an errand. Without it- they wouldn't be able to form a working relationship with Harry later on and start the affection meter for the shop owner. Manon lifted her head and Antoni was about to leave, so Colette had to make a bold choice.
"Your highness!" The ginger reached out, clumsy but didn't trip or fall over herself.
Antoni turned and waited politely for Colette to right herself, his expression blank.
[AP: 2]
Colette didn't have time. She needed to think. Think. Think…..
"....the golden apple. We know where it is!"
There was a brief pause….
"We do?" Manon questioned, causing Colette to shush her quickly. The prince looked between the two girls, then back at his watch. Colette bit at her dry lip, hoping this would work. To her luck, a window popped up. It was gold. She quickly shared it with Manon, whispering under her breath.
[Antoni is intrigued by Colette. He intends to utilize them since he has nothing to lose.]
[AP: 4]
"Meet me in 10 minutes by the bridge." The Prince said, an easy polite smile on his face. Manon looked between him and Colette, copying the ginger as she bowed to him before he left the store with a friendly wave.
Colette turned immediately and grasped Manon's shoulders.
"He came early! We have to be careful. I almost had a heart attack from that improv. He was at like 2 AP…." She said breathlessly, suddenly hot in the brisk autumn air. Manon smirked, a slight chuckle falling from her lips.
"You did good, I'm proud you stepped away from routine." The brunette assured her. "Before we leave, I wanted to buy some earrings-"
"Oh! Miss Manon, I do have those packed up for you here!" Harry exclaimed from the counter.
…
Manon paused, turning to look at the navy haired man incredulously.
"Pardon?" Her words were a bit quiet which made Harry uneasy, but the man just nodded slowly as he came around the counter with a small blue paper bag in his fingers.
"Um…yes? I was told that you.…AH- never mind. Well, they are yours! Have a good day, both of you!" Harry handed the tiny bag to Manon and ran off to his back office before the girls could ask more questions. Colette recalled what Manon had said as she ran downstairs and peeked over her shoulder as Manon opened the bag.
Inside were two black pearl earrings with a rune etching.
"Oh, those are valuable. Lots of nobles want these for their kids. The rune is-"
"Algiz." Manon finished, her lips pursed. Colette stared at her strangely. She couldn't have downloaded that information off the internet or anything. But she just nodded slowly.
"Yeah…it protects you from death one time or injuries 2 times. Whichever happens first…" Colette said, her eyes still worried. "You said someone hurt you? When did he buy these for you?"
Manon put the earrings back into the tiny bag and shoved it in her dress pocket.
"I'll think about this later." She mumbled, following Colette as she walked towards the door.
As soon as the duo left the store, a figure came barreling towards them. Fully prepared, Colette yanked Manon back before she was in the line of fire, the girl yelping as she narrowly missed getting trampled.
The figure was a child himself- a skinny little boy no older than 7, just like them. But…
His eyes were wild. Sunken in like the uncanny holes you find in ancient oak trees. These eyes were sick; they had seen far too much. Manon didn't even know what to say- how to even proceed, when the boy clung to her, his clothing absolutely tattered and smelling of black mold and alcohol. It was too overwhelming, too sudden, too much-
"Here."
Colette took the boy's hand, unclenching his fingers from Manon's skirts as she held it. The boy's wild gaze fell on her, his movements stilling, his struggle lessening. Then the redhead took the bag of apples and peaches they had purchased earlier, tying it off tightly.
"Go home. Don't do this again. There are horrible people out here." She said to him, wiping the dirt off the boy's sweaty forehead. The child looked at Colette like she was insane, slowly backing away with the bag, his bare feet crunching on fallen leaves. Then he turned and ran as fast as he could into an alley. Colette dusted her hands off and nodded, satisfied. Manon stared at her, just now processing the entire exchange.
Colette was…very kind. Even in this world, she was the type who even if she didn't- somehow always knew what to do to solve an issue. Manon…she found that to be a strong trait. She looked at Colette a bit strangely, a bit differently. And for the first time, she truly felt some seeds of forgiveness sprout in her heart.
"You are buying me new fruit." Manon said, deciding the previous event needed no explanation. Colette just smiled, shaking her head as they continued towards the bridge to meet with Antoni.
"Just stay focused from this point on…Antoni is…he will seem very kind even if he is offput. And he will lure you in with a false sense a security before his AP fully plummets." Colette put a hand on Manon's, squeezing. "Just be as polite as possible, and do not question his actions or words." These were hard, very difficult requests to be giving someone like Manon, but Colette knew she was trying very hard to pull back, and….hoped…she would give it her all.
…
…
…
There were still a few hours before sunset when Colette and Manon found Prince Antoni, leaning against the stones of the bridge that exited town. Colette had explained as much as she could to Manon on the way there, but her voice quieted down as they caught the boy's eye. The prince smiled at them, waving. But as the duo came closer they realized his golden gaze was on someone behind them.
"What are you two doing?"
The girls turned swiftly, making out the figure of a familiar cheeky boy with hair the color of dark steel.